Clarifying Data Mesh Roles And Responsibilities

Data Mesh is an organizational approach that decentralizes data management by reallocating data responsibilities from a central data team to various specialized roles, thereby fostering efficiency and empowerment within business-focused domain teams. This transition involves several key roles: the Executive Sponsor, who aligns data strategy with business objectives; the Domain Owner, who sets federated governance standards; the Data Product Manager, who oversees the lifecycle of data products; and the Domain Data Architect, who designs data flow and models. Additionally, roles such as Data Product Developer, Infrastructure Engineer, and Domain SME/Analyst are crucial for creating and maintaining data products, while Legal/InfoSec/Audit experts ensure compliance and risk management. Organizations adopting Data Mesh must consider design principles that encourage autonomy and efficient management of data responsibilities, supported by external advisors as needed, to successfully evolve and expand their data domains and products.